Checking In With the Stars of 'Newlyweds' Season 1

Tina and Tarz and John and Kathryn share updates on their lives since filming.

It's been nearly two years since the stars of our hit docuseries Newlyweds allowed viewers to follow them on their inaguaral year as a married couple.

So what are their lives like now that the cameras have been turned off? Bravo is revisiting the couples of Season 1 on tonight's special, Newlyweds Season 1 Where Are They Now (tune in at 10p ET!) and the Daily Dish checked in with Tina and Tarz, and John and Kathryn to see what their lives are like now. What are their secrets to an enduring marriage? And who had the craziest interaction with fans post-show? Read on to find out.

Tina and Tarz

What's life like been for you since appearing on Season 1 of Newlyweds?

Tina: Life’s been, well, life! Ups and downs, and everything in between! Overall, life is beautiful, and I’m grateful for it all. Without the lows and the highs it would not feel so damn good right? Ok, that was a very bipolar answer, but being the insane emotional roller coaster that I am, it’s a very tough question to sum up in just a few lines!

Tarz: Pretty chill. Kidding! It's been as non-stop as it was our first year, but throw in an amazing little baby, a few more sleepless nights, and lots of screaming and crying (but enough about Tina and I...)

What have been the biggest challenges you've faced since the first year of marriage? What have been the greatest joys?

Tina: The challenges have been my family. If you watch the show, you know things are even worse with my dad. I am one of those people that believe harmony and peace can be achieved. I hate when people say “well, maybe some relationships just don’t work out." I guess I know that my dad and I were great before my mom passed away, so I don’t understand why we can’t get even a little of that back since my marriage to Tarz?

As far as “greatest joys," I’ve been with Tarz for almost 8 years now, and the greatest joy is still feeling grateful for him every day. I can’t say this enough-marry your best friend, and do NOT settle for mediocrity. You have to see this person every freaking day! If you love them, that’s not good enough. You have to genuinely like the hell out of them!

Tarz: The biggest challenges I think have been in juggling everything across the board. Taking care of Tarzie, working, making time for family to see Tarzie, making sure we have enough time with our pups Xena and Loki, making sure there’s enough glitter in the house, trying to keep things clean from all the glitter in the house, eating right, etc. It’s something everyone has to struggle with in some way or another, but to me it’s the toughest thing.

Any funny or weird fan interactions since appearing on the show?

Tina: I do have to address the unexpected smack-talking I got after being on Watch What Happens Live! I basically showed up on WWHL two weeks after giving birth to Baby-Tarz, with a flat stomach and got SLAMMED! Viewers all called me a liar and said I used a surrogate or that wasn’t my real baby, and they wanted to know why I would lie about giving birth, and said the fact that I did not post even one pregnancy picture made it super obvious I was not pregnant. Fact #1: I didn’t post the pregnancy pictures so that the season finale was all that more exciting! Fact #2: As I mentioned on WWHL, I was SIX weeks early! So having a flat stomach in two weeks was a little easier because of that!

Tarz: The most surprising thing to me has really been the amount of support across the board, which is such a tribute to the following that Bravo has built as a whole. Of course there will always be haters and supporters, but there is no comparison between the two to the amount of support I feel the show, and we as a couple have gotten.

What was the experience like watching such an intimate part of your life (marriage) unfold on national television?

Tina: I am going to answer this question seriously because it’s something I feel passionate about. I used to care a lot what everyone thought about me, and I wanted everyone to know I was truly a good person. After meeting Tarz, he taught me not to give a sh-- what people think (besides those that are close to me of course), and since then life has been so peaceful! Point being, I was happy to show it all..the good, the bad, and the crazy! I am fine with people learning what to do, as well as what not to do, from us! Also, Tarz and I love to laugh at ourselves and there was plenty to laugh at! Bravo killed it! How they crammed an entire year into one season with such seamlessness is beyond both Tarz and I! (Especially because I talk so damn much!!)

Tarz: I’m finally at a place in my life where I’m very happy with myself and who I am, and it just makes things so easy to not care if/when people are going to judge me/us. I personally was really interested in being on the show because I think there are some really big issues that Tina and I tackled and continue to tackle, and I don’t know if we handle them appropriately all the time, but I do know that other people are going through similar things, so at the very least, I think it can help to know that people aren’t alone in what they’re going through.

What are the biggest lessons you've learned about marriage?

Tina: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that the only person you are going to last with is someone that you genuinely love to be around: your best friend. I don’t care if you’re Brangelina - eventually looks don’t matter. I used to wake up to Tarz and think “damn he’s hot!”, and then by year 2, I was like “damn, what a dork!” But he’s MY dork, and I just like being around him so much that I can’t express it in words.

Tarz: I think the biggest lesson I’ve learned is the same as Tina: marry your best friend.

John and Kathryn

What's life like been for you since appearing on Season 1 of Newlyweds?

Jathryn: It's been great, I think the first year was definitely the hardest, but once we took a bit out of that wedding anniversary cake life became a lot sweeter. There was still many challenges the second year, being new parents being the biggest one, but we just celebrated our third year and it gets better and better!

Any significant milestones you'd like to share with fans?

Jathryn: Well we have grown our business at Glow Tanning Salon, I think once John began to trust me more and see that I was doing a great job at handling the business and staff, he doesn’t question my decisions regarding the Salon and views it as my business. This helps our marriage out as he is not in my face all the time. We try to keep work, and our family life separate. Also I think we have the parenting thing down, for now at least.

What have been the biggest challenges you've faced since the first year of marriage? What have been the greatest joys?

Jathryn: Biggest challenges we faced is learning to respect one another, to know when one of us needs to step up and give in. Being parents to a toddler can be frustrating at times and we both need breaks and nights out with friends. Our Son Dean James has been our greatest joy, since he was 8 months we have been trying for baby #2, after a year and half of trying we are seeking help and are now undergoing IVF. This has taken a toll on our sex life a bit, but now hopefully we will be pregnant soon, and we can enjoy each other again without the pressures of HAVING TO MAKE A BABY.

Any funny or weird interactions with fans since the show aired?

Jathryn: It's awesome we get recognized whereever we go, we made some neighborhood friends from the show and even went out on their boat. Two things that stand out is I get noticed in department stores a lot and one saleswoman said to me a few months after the show aired, “I knew you would come here eventually, you love to shop right?” Another time I was out shopping with my son and a woman started screaming my name so loud the whole store looked up to see the commotion. (That was just the other day, a year since we aired). John and I love it, it’s from people all over the island. We are happy to represent a real newlywed couple from Long Island and someone they can relate to.

What was the experience like watching such an intimate part of your life (marriage) unfold on national television.

Jathryn: It was great, to watch a documentary of yourselves during the first year of marriage. We took so much from doing the show and then later watching it. We have grown as people, learned to listen and respect each other's feelings and become much closer and in love. We did all this and were able to invite people intro our lives, hopefully other couples can learn that no marriage is perfect but two people can be perfect for each other.

What are the biggest lessons you've learned about marriage? What are the biggest misconceptions people have about marriage?

Jathryn: Well...marriage is work; work that never stops. You always have to work hard at making your spouse feel important, not losing yourself as an individual, and stepping into new roles like husband, wife, mother and father. You don’t just marry the person, you marry their family. I think people take marriage for granted today, and give up when things get hard, but maybe if more shows like this existed people would understand that your first year of marriage and the honeymoon stage isn’t always happily ever bliss, that is something that the couple has to strive for and work on.